April 24, 2008

Today is my very last day of clinic. Seems so surreal. I had a class 5 this morning who didn't show and than in the afternoon I had a possible board pt. come in so I could clean one quad. I think it well but he is so dramatic. I gave him a PSA, 2 ASA's a greater palatine and some dentin block LA and he still didn't get numb. He was jumping and twitching through the whole appointment.
I thought there is no way I could take him into boards like this. I some good advice from my instructors. They advised me that I still did very well and he has some great calculus. They also said that the IA is greater profound anethesia so it might not be as bad. I trust them so I am going to go for it. I am really worried about it but I think I will be able to do it.
I just need more confidence in my self.
I also hope I took good enough xrays on him to not loose those 4 points. Especially since I am worried about the 6 points I will loose for each piece of calculus I miss.
I hope it all works out.

April 17, 2008

Today was my simulation day. It was a very busy day. I had a class 5 who was a very sweet man. I feel bad for him since he had quite a few carious leasions with a partial. I think he might loose his stability teeth that his partial sits on. I hope he gets them taken care of.
Than I had my last week pt. (possilbe board pt.) come in so I could take the xrays I needed. It took a while since they had to be perfect. I don't want to loose points for xrays since it is a good 4 points that I don't want to loose.
In the afternoon I had a class mates grandpa come in since she was seeing the grandma but he ended up having really hight Blood Pressure. I had 3 other people take it just to make sure I was reading it right. I spoke to him about taking blood pressure medication since high blood pressure is a serious disease.
Than my last pt. was a 1B 12 year old. She talked a lot so it was hard to stay on time to clean her. She also needed 9 sealants. Since I didn't need them I had some first years come in to do them. It took quite a while. My pt. was very patient.
Her mother was very nice as well. She waited while her daugher had everything finished. I think it was a very productive day.
I really hope my skills are improving because I am graduation in 2 weeks.

April 10, 2008

Today we had mockmockboards...our very last one right before our actual board test. i cant' believe this semester is coming to an end so quickly. My pt. was a great class 2 that was great to work on. She was pregnant so I wasn't able to give her local anesthetic but it turned out alright. I didn't miss any calculus spots but I did miss my perio statement and an area of recession. I also caused an area of tissue trauma...OOPS!
I also had a pt. come in so I could take xrays but our clinic had a bunch of no shows with pt's and so I gave him up so he could be cleaned instead of me taking xrays.
I told him he would have to come back in for the xrays and he was very nice about it and agreed. He is my possible board pt. and I need to get some good xrays.
I still can't believe we only have 2-3 more weeks. I need to get some things finalized so I better go. Later,

April 3

I saw a cute 4 year old today. He wasn't very cooperative but he was sure cute. Every time I would ask him to open up or to lye back in the chair or anything his response made me laugh a little. He would just look at me and hum a bit (hmmmmmm) and than say thats ok like he was telling me he wasn't going to do that.
His mom and I tried the best we could. We got him polished but I couldn't scale any plaque off of him. He said it hurt. So we didn't push it.
At 12:30 all of our schedules changed. I had scheduled a family and I was going to see a 1A and I gave all the other children away. I had another peer ask if I could do one of her patients. So I gave my 1A away and saw the other peers 1B and did sealants again.
Everyone who was on the schedule for someone was switched with someone else. But we got everyone taken care of.

March 27

Today was suppose to be my production day but every body canceled. So I ended up seeing 1 quad of a class 3 and gave the other quad to my peer for her make up mockboard. She hasn't had very much luck with pt's this semester. And I am hoping carma will bring good luck back around. Since I am desperately trying to find a board pt still.
In the afternoon I saw a 1A. She was very cute. She was about 8 or 9 and needed sealants as well. I gave those to some other class mates who needed them.
Again I hope some luck starts to come my way. I only have about 4 weeks left to find a pt. for my WREB test. And I have no new patients to see. I did sign up for the Womens Health connection to I hope that will bring me something. And my husband is asking around at work as well.

March 20

Today I saw one of my class III's and got two of her quads done. She is very motivated to gain a healthy mouth. So she is very reliable on showing up. I put her on Chorehexidine to try and control the plaque and bacteria in her mouth along with getting a jump start on her healing.
In the afternoon it was another class 5. They seem to flock to me. I sure hope I have all my quads I think I needed.
I am also still looking for a board pt. Every day that goes by makes me very nervous. I have no more new patients to call. We have been doing screenings but I have had no luck by either no shows or I can't get a hold of them. I sure hope I find one soon.

March 6

At this point I am trying to get every new pt. that I can since boards are coming up. There are quite a few of class mates who have there pt.'s. WREB is very picky when it comes to qualifying a pt. for this test. I have had no luck finding any body for there standards. The patients are either too clean or they have too deep of a pocket.
The new patient I saw today had too much decay but qualified with clicks of calculus. She also had her wisdom teeth which stresses me out a bit. I don't think I would do a great job cleaning it as thorough as it needed to be to pass WREB.
And my afternoon patient was a tissue evaluation and than I saw his mom who was a 1B. She again hadn't had her teeth cleaned for many years but ended up being a 1B. I sure hope I can find someone soon.

Feburary 28

This morning we had Anesthetic Mockboard. It went ok. I passed the IA but I didn't pass the PSA. I definiatley need more practice with that injection. I am soo nervous for the real anesthetic boards. I need more practice with both injections.
At 12:30 I had 4 quads of a class 5. He was very nice. I seem to get a lot of class 5's here at Weber. At the VA they seem to be a bit more difficult of a pt. Which is good, it gives me a variety of all kinds of pt.s. I need to keep my skills up.

Feburary 21

Last week was UDA so we didn't have to see pt.'s that week for Thursday clinic. But I think we have a make up day at the end of the semester.
Today I had a class 5 pt. scheduled at 8. She showed up and she was new. I did the OD and my peer in the next unit over has had too many no shows. I didn't need a 5 so gave her up and let my peer clean her. She is really worried about getting all of her quads done since she has had so many no shows. I sure hope the VA helps her out when it is her turn to go.
So this morning I didn't have a pt. and at 12:30 I had a 1B. I have seen her family and her boyfriend is coming in later next month. It makes you feel better when they refer all of there family to you.

Feburary 7

Today was mockboard day. I had found a pt. last semester and he had committed to return if I waited to clean him and of coarse he never came back. I couldn't even get a hold of him. He would never return my calls and never showed.
So luckily I found a pt. 2 weeks age that was a class 2 that qualified. He was very nice to come in and let me use him as a test pt.
He had a very small mouth and was very difficult to access. I of course missed a couple of spots since he was very difficult to access. But I still passes. I also missed points on the canine xray. If you miss one tiny thing on an xray than you miss all of the 4 points.
It is a chunk of points that could have been prevented from being lost. Everything adds up quickly so be very thorough on the paper work you can control.

Jan 31

I saw my class 4 all day today. He came in at 8 and I did two quads and then my afternoon pt. canceled and he came back after getting lunch and I did the other two quads. He wanted to stay and get it done with. I am glad I found and finished my class four from weber. The other one I will be able to get at the VA.
The poor guy had 9 - 12 mm pocket depths with supenation on #9. He had a perio abscess in the pocket of #9. I didn't catch it but my instructor was the one that saw it. Since I have really never seen one before I'm glad she caught it.
We cleaned around that area hoping it would get rid of the bacteria to help it heal. I hope it didn't heal so the bacteria got trapped around the tissue.

Jan 24

Today was a pretty easy day. I saw new 1B that has never been in before. He was 15 but he looked like he was at least 19. He didn't know what floss was and said he brushed his teeth twice a day. But his tissues showed otherwise. He had not had a cleaning since he was about 8 but he still ended up only being a 1B.
We went over home care and discussed the importance of it or he would worsen his status. I talked to him about what perio is and he could get to that if he doesnt take care of his mouth at home along with regular cleanings.
I will see him back for an evaluation in about 2 weeks.
My afternoon pt. was an easy class2. I think she was boarder line 1B or class 2. I'm glad they gave her to me as class 2 since I would like to fullfill all of my requirments as fast as I can. At least the perio patients.

Jan 17 2008

Last week I forgot to mention I found my mockboard patient. The first day back I found him. I was feeling pretty good about myself. I sure hope he shows up when its time. I did get three quads cleaned and left the last one for mockboard day.
Today I had a 14 year old ( he looked like he was 20). He was a big kid. His tissues were very flacid and red. He never brushed his teeth. He was only a 1B but he was on his way to becoming a perio pt. We got him cleaned up and stressed home care along with regular cleanings.
He is coming back in a month for a tissue evaluation.
My afternoon pt. was young as well. She was 20. Her tissues and teeth were pretty tight and stippled. But she did have the bone loss and debris to be a class 2. We went over home care and regular cleanings as well with her. I'm not sure she understood due to the language barreier but she said she understood and we will evaluate next visit.
I know it is just the beginning of the semester but I sure hope I start finding difficult patients so I can meet requirements.

Jan 10 2008

Today is the first day back at Clinic. It doesn't feel like we ever left for Christmas break. I just can't comprehend the fact that this is actually our last semester. It has sure been a long time coming.
Anyway today I saw a class 5. It was a pretty good way to start the semester off and get back into the hang of cleaning patients. He was a nice guy. He was an older gentleman that seemed to forget things. He forgot where he was for a minute, I had to remind him and than he would seem to recall. He was very insitant on coming back in April before we graduated. He was very complementive and told me I will be a good Hygienist.
I'm glad he thinks so. I sure don't have that type of confidence in my self. I still need a lot of practice at hand scaling and giving anesthetic. We graduate in about 3 months and than we will be on our own without any guidence from instructors.
All I can do is try to keep improving....

November 27, 2007

Today is my last day of clinic for the semester. I had some great patients and finished a lady I was trying to get completed all semester. She kept No Showing on me. By the time she came in today she had already built up calculus where I had already cleaned. She was very senstitive and would let me touch the other quads unless I numbed her up. I gave her local anesthetic in the quad I was working on but I didn't want to give her any more. I tried using orakix but that wasn't working. I need to have her back next semester so I can do another cleaning and have her come in more frequently if I can get her to keep her appt.s.
My other paitnet was just like last week. Very figity and wanting a quit cleaning so he could get in and out. Again I told him that if you don't come in for regular cleaings the appt.'s will take a little longer.
I know we start clinic as soon as we return from Christmas break so I better start calling patients and having them return. I know we need class V's so I might as well get the patients I have seen to return and scheduled. I'm looking for new patients as well so I can get my other classifications. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break but there is going to be homework I will be doing. Since boards are coming up I will be studying all I can as well as writing papers and doing my research project. But it will still be nice a break from driving up to Ogden. Have a great Christmas break to ALL.

November 20, 2007

I had a new pt. this morning. I have seen the rest of family and now I finally got to see him. He has the worst mouth out of all the people I have seen from his family. In fact he is my Mock board pt. for Feb. 7. I was really worried how I was going to find one with such short time we had when returning in Jan. He does seem like a more difficult case though. He is a class III just like my other mock board but his calculus feels different. I cleaned one quad on him and I missed quite a few spots so I am hoping my skills improve so I am confident I can clean a difficult class III.
My afternoon pt. was an older gentleman who hates taking his blood pressure medication. He was in a week ago and his blood pressure was too high and they gave him a speech about it and sent him home. When he came in today his blood pressure was lower but he wouldn't stop telling me how he hates to take it. I emphasized again the importance of taking it or he could die. SInce it is considered the silent killer. He is also a very impatient man. He drinks a ton of coffee and he had a ton of stain. So I worked extra hard to try and remove it. I got out the air powder polisher and that seemed to help but it still wasn't removing it all.
The pt. was really anxcious to get out of the chair. He just wanted a fast cleaning. He told me to leave the stain, get what I could remove and than polish him. I explained the importance of a clean mouth and the problem with leaving stain on his teeth. He was full of questions after I explain a couple of things to him. He nicely calmed down a bit and let me finish his cleaning.

November 13, 2007

Today was a very productive day. I had a pt. no show again but I ended calling one of my patients who needed to be completed and luckily he was available. He was a very difficult class III but I didn't do too bad. I only missed 3 areas. Usually I would be freaking out about this but let me tell you again he WAS VERY DIFFICULT. I really learned how to use my SIU today and my graceys. My afternoon pt. were really cute kids. The little girl had an accident in my chair though and I wasn't sure how to clean her up. Luckily her mother was right next door. She took care of her daughter while I cleaned up the chair and such. Her brother was a little older so he didn't have any problems while in the chair.
And than I saw one quad on Merediths pt. I shared my mock board pt. with her she gave me one of her pt.s quad of a class III. I also was able to do a medicament. I used arestin on her. She seemed very cooroperative and I think she will do well with the medicament and her home care. She was a very nice lady. Even though she was a class III just like my morning pt. she was soooo much easier to work on. Her deposit seem to just flake right off.
Well the semester is just about to come to an end. I have two more clinic days left and a couple more pt.'s I haven't been able to finish. I will have to schedule them Jan. I feel a little guilty since we have learned that we need to complete the root debridment at least within two weeks. It has been longer for some pt.'s. What can I do.

November 6, 2007

We had another lad in the AM this morning. We learned how to transfer a pt. who is a wheel chair. We all had to be a pt. being lifted out of the chair and be the clinician doing the lifting. We also learned about desensitization. I was the patient for that in my group. I had four different materials placed in all four different quads. My faviorite was the Gel Kam. It tasted like metal for a few minutes after application but it went on clearer and looked a lot better as time went on. The second favorite was the varnish and the other two where awful. They gouped after a bit and my teeth didin't feel clean.
Than we learned about taking impressions again and emergency scenerios. It was a fun morning. I didn't have to worry if my patient was going to show or not. In the after noon my patient did NO SHOW. Luckily there was a patient waiting in the lobby wanting her teeth cleaned with no appt. She was hoping someone's patient would no show. She was a class V but I was sure glad she wanted to wait to get her cleaned. I didn't do too bad on her. I missed two clicks of calculus. I seem to better here in clinic than I do at the VA. One Wednesday I missed 9 clicks of calculus. I have never missed that much before. I need to try and adapt to new environments better. Or go slower and become more persice on my scaling technique.

Oct. 30, 2007

Today is mock board day. I saw my patient at 8 since I wanted to get it over with. This morning I was thinking maybe I should have gone second so I could see how things were ran. But once I got the paper work figured out and I read over my WREB manual a couple of times I felt like it was any other clinic day. I was really watching my time and I had all my instruments ready and bibs and everything else that needed to be done. When I finally got my patient moved from the chair of the examiners back to me and I could start cleaning I felt like it was just another clinic day.
We had 2 hours to clean one quad and mark recession, probe and back up to the front so we wouldn't get docked for time. It sounds like a lot of time but I used every minute. It really was plenty of time but I really wanted to make sure I got him cleaned and the probe depths and recession.
I didn't do too bad. I was ok with the score I recieved. Next time I will know my occlusion better and check for recession a little better. That is where I missed a couple points on. I also missed 1 click of calculus.
I am really glad this day is over. I couldn't sleep last night thinking my patient wasn't coming or had completely failed the calculus removal. Until next mock boards.

Oct. 23, 2007

Today I had the pt. that was 1 hour late last time. She was only 30 min. late today. Since I did the OD already I was able to finish all four quads. I only missed 1 spot. They always seem be the distal of teeth. I think I even missed sheet calculus. I am so focused on trying to get interproximal cleaned I forget about supragingival sometimes.
My afternoon patient was another patient I had who was late the first time. He luckily came back and was on time. I finished the class II pt. and he was so excited. I have never had a pt. be that excited for a cleaning. He was very nice. I want to schedule him back for a 3 -4 month recall. He told me he will call around that time since he didn't know his schedule.
Sometime I forget to tell these patients when to come back for there next cleaning. They know they need to return within three to four months but I forget to schedule them before they leave. I have a list so I will call them next semester.

Oct. 16, 2007

We had lab in the AM this morning. So we didn't see patients. Now we can pass off a couple more PE's. In the afternoon I saw another new pt. He ended being a mock board pt. to and since I didn't need one I gave a quad to another student who was looking for a patient.
I got one quad done on him since I didn't want to take any more areas so Holly had more to choose from. When she is finished with him on Mockboard day I will have him back and finish the rest of him.

Oct. 9, 2007

I had a pt. from mid town today. He needed a lot of work done. He was from Cuba and was very nice. I was able to start a full mouth set of xrays since I and midtown needed the xrays. I ended up paying for them. He couldn't afford them (which I found out after I had taken him up front to check out). But he needed them so I was happy to help out and now I am poor. I was hoping he would be a mockboard pt. but he had too much decay and too many missing teeth.
I had to have him come back since midtown took him for about 1 hour. And since he just had a tooth extracted I couldn't really do much on him. He had to stay biting on the gauze to help stop the bleeding and form a clot.
He was a little more difficult scaling. He had quite a few restorations everywhere and it was difficult for me to tell if it was calculus, plaque or just the boarder of the restoration. I had to look at the xrays quite a few times and go back over areas. I ended up missing 3 areas but I thought I didn't do too bad.
My afternoon patient was a great patient. He was a little late but he ended up being ok for my mockboard. I was thrilled. I actually had a returning patient in his spot but since he was new and I was told he never had cleaning than I wanted to hope and pray that he would qualify. I took xrays on him and I have never seen that much radiographic calculus. I was a great learning experience. Than I went in with an explorer and I could really feel the calculus. He had all four quads that could qualify so I wanted to share him with another student. I got to clean one quad to experience how difficult he was and than we scheduled him back on mock board day.
I am relieved I find a pt. for mock boards. I want to improve on scaling and try to prevent tissue trauma better. I missed 2 spots and damaged an area of tissue. I must have been alittle too aggressive.

Oct. 2, 2007

Today I had another pt. decide to show up 1 hour late. Ahhhhhhhhhh. She had to do an errand before she came to the clinic. Maybe I need to emphasize more how important it is for them to show up, be on time, or call if they have a problem. I got xrays and OD done. At this rate I will never get any quads done. She was 2 quads of a II and 2 quads of a V. I started one quad but didn't get finished. I had to take another day and schedule her back. My days are filling up with patients that should have been done by now.
Her mom hasn't been able to come in so I can finish her last quad either. She no showed on me and now she wants to come in so I can finish her. I am running out of room but I need her she is a class III. So if I can juggle a couple of patients maybe I can finish her and see an easier pt. in the same appt. I'll have to check my schedule to see where I can fit her in.

In the afternoon I had a class V. I got a full mouth series of xrays and all of his teeth cleaned. He was brand new today and I got everything done because he was on time. I love patients like that. He did have one interesting thing about him pallet. He had a bad tooth that was broken and needed to be taken out. He has an appt. to do that but what was interesting is that I could see the root of the tooth on his pallet through the tissue. Like the bad tooth was eating away at his tissue on the pallet.
I sure hope these days get easier. I need to get my quads done. I have never had a class where my grade depends on things that are out of my control. That is so frusturating. But you do what you can. I am still looking for a mock board pt. Since it will be here in about 3 - 4 weeks I sure hope I can find a reliable pt.
My goals to work on are my technique. Since I haven't had a chance to work on a difficult pt. I hope I will be prepared for when they do come in.

Sept. 25

Today I had a class III scheduled. I was looking forward to practice with her for mockboards. Since I don't have a mockboard pt. yet I'm hoping she will be able to qualify for me. But I didn't get a chance to check. She NO SHOWED on me. It seems to be typical of my patients. She was 1 hour and 30 min. late the firs day she came and all I had time for is xrays and OD (and I barely got that finished). So when 8:36 came around I figured she wasn't coming. I called her several times and than finally she answered and said her 2 year old was sick since last night (she didn't tell me this when I confirmed her last night) and she wasn't able to be come in.

I scrambled to find another pt. Every day counts and if you have several no shows than you will not get your quads done. At about 9 I finally found a pt. who I had scheduled next week. He was available to come in. He was a new pt. so I had to start with xrays and OD. He showed up at about 9:30 and again all I got done was xrays and OD. He is another class III but again I didn't have time to start him. I scheduled him to come back but knowing my luck I have a feeling he won't show.

My afternoon pt. was my brother. He was on time and he was of course a 1B. But I am very glad he came in. I got a full mouth xray and all 4 quads done. He is a great pt. I forgot to put eye wear back on him when I was polishing and I got prophy paste in his eye. I felt awfull. So, note to self ALWAYS make sure your pt.'s eye wear is on.

My goal is to try and get faster if I have pt.'s that show up late (even thought that is a little tough since you have checks all the time so you can't skip anything).
Try to come up with an idea to make sure pt.'s show or at least tell you the day before they are not coming. It would make it a lot easier on me if I knew Monday night that my pt. is coming.

9-18-07

My first patient today was 1B. She had great looking tissues. They were very stippled, pink and tight. She did have calculus that was very difficult to get though. Since her tissues were so healthy and tight I had a hard time getting interproximal and subgingival. I first thought I did a great job since it was a 1B but when I had my scale check I had missed all the mesial and distal surfaces subgingival. The instructor and I tried to get proximal enough to remove the calculus but non of the instruments we thought would work didn't work. So she went to get a McCall that had a thin working end which allowed us to get to the calculus. It was a good learning experience.
I really need to learn the area specific instruments so I could be more useful as a clinician. It is hard to just talk about in class. It is better for me to visualize and experience it on a patient.
My second patient canceled last minute so luckily Lilly had someone waiting in the waiting room who wanted her teeth cleaned. She was a class III but didn't have a lot of her teeth. So it was considered only 2 quads of a class III. But she was a great patient to help me learn and see the proximal surfaces and where calculus likes to hide.

9-11-07

Today my class III patient returned. Since I only got one quad on her done last visit I was really going to try and finish her but that is just wish full thinking. I got the two quads on the UL and LL finished. My instructor said she could be a mock board patient on the LR quad but I didn't do so well at scale check with the UL and LL so I hope I can find a better mock board patient that won't be so difficult.
My second patient was spanish speaking also. She was very nice and really wanted her teeth cleaned but she told me at the appointment that she could only stay an hour. So I only got x-rays and probing done. We classified her as a class III. So I got another class III which will be great. Get the hard quads done with first. I'm hoping she could be a board patient. Even though we were told a class II would be a better patient for boards or mock boards, I haven't been able to come across one.
I'm hoping my skills will improve with these difficult patients. And my understanding of which area specific instrument to use.

First patient in Second year

My first patient as a second year was a great patient. Last year we had a very hard time finding a class III but my very first patient of the year was a Class III. I only got one quad done on her since I had to wait for an instructor to give local anesthetic and I was pretty slow on probing and taking x-rays. But I was so excited she was a class III. She came off of a list from Mrs. Campbell so I should thank her.
My goal is to improve my time in probing and taking xrays. Next time I have a class III I would like to get at least 2 or 3 quads done. I know there is no way I could get all quads done (even though I have about 2 and 1/2 hours.
My patient in the afternoon no Showed. I even drove to her house to give her forms and a map to bring help her remember and get to the clinic ok. She wouldn't even answer her phone when I asked lilly to call. I was so stressed out. My first day of clinic and I already had a no show. So I called my husband, who I was going to use as a back up but not this soon in the semester. So he came and was my patient. He was a 1B and 1 quad of a 2. So it turned out ok but that is the worst when patients no show.

First day of clinic

Today in clinic we got associated with rules and procedures again. We also went over instrument sharpening and passed off our instrument sharpening PE. Today was a long day but pretty laxed.
Next week we jump right in and see our first patients. I have two new spanish speaking patients scheduled. I am really nervous since I need more practice on my skills and I don't speak spanish. Thankfully Lilly from midtown is around to help when she can.
I almost forgot we had to blog so I'm glad we went over rules and procedures today. We'll see how it goes next week.

April 25

Today was my last quad of a class III. Yeah I finally finished her. I was so greatful she was willing to come back so many times. She was very nice. I was also glad instructor vining was able to help me translate. She spake no english at all.
I am so glad to be done with all my reuqirements. It gets really stressful thinking about if your pt. is going to show up or if it is the classification you need it to be etc.
I did miss about 3 clicks of calculus I had to go back in and remove. But I am glad she got done and I hope I am getting better at it.
I will have to practice over the summer.

April 23

I saw a 1b today. It went very smooth and easy. The only thing I had a hard time with is the language barrier. It took a little longer because of the communication but it went well. She should have been a II but it didn't matter what she was since she was an extra quad anyway.
I'm hoping my pt. on Wednesday shows up since she is my last quad of a three and it is the last clinic day.

April 18

Today I had three quads of a class II and two kids. I am doing everything I can to get all my quads in and done with. I know a couple other students in clinic are having a very difficult time finding there requirements. So I am a little nervous about getting my done.
It was very stressful doing all of this in one day and leaving by 3:00 for a meeting I had to get to. I'm sure I will be getting a blue slip for my charts. But I will fix them tomorrow.
Good clinic day.

April 16

My patient today was 16 years old and smokes. He says he hides it from his mom and is not sure why he needs to hide it since his mom smokes as well. I talked to him about smoking cessation and the problems it is having and will have on his teeth and tissues now and in the future. He says he is dropping out of school and his teeth are his last concerns. I still stressed the importance of it.
He had a lot of build up to clean off and in my opinion needed to be a class II but they only gave him to me as a class I. Either way I did finish and hopefully he does consider to stop smoking.

April 11

I finished a class three quads of a class V and started and finished a 1B today. It was a great day in clinic. Since I need to get these requriements in I am doing everything I can to squeezed patients in in one clinic sesssion.
I was completely worried about it and doubting myself that I could finish and get these patients done with but I did. I guesse I need to have more confidence in myself.
I was a great clinic day.

April 9 (Later in clinic)

I decided to stay and help the other clinic session as well hoping I could a pano or a sealant or something to help me with requirements. And it paid off. I didn't see a pt. but I got my last sealant and a pano done. The day turned out better than I was feeling it was going to be.

April 9

I brought back my class III pt. today hoping I could get her finished. But that didn't happen. I only got one quad done in all that time. I think a lot of it had to do with waiting for instructors and the language barrier. Since I don't speak spanish I had to wait for the only person who was there that day to help me with translation and than I had to wait for anesthetic. So one more day I hope I can get her done.

April 9

I brought back my class III pt. today hoping I could get her finished. But that didn't happen. I only got one quad done in all that time. I think a lot of it had to do with waiting for instructors and the language barrier. Since I don't speak spanish I had to wait for the only person who was there that day to help me with translation and than I had to wait for anesthetic. So one more day I hope I can get her done.

April 4

Today I finished a class II and Scheduled and finished a child pt. She actually marked on her health history that she had active TB and I was worried I wasn't able to do her since I needed her for requirements, but her mother had brought a physicians consult saying she was ok to treat.
So today was a very productive day.

April 2

I finally have a 1b pt. today. It went pretty quick. Since I was done with the pt. a little early I got to so some more sealants on another students pt. So I almost have all my sealant requirements done with.
There are only seven more clinic days so I better kick it up a notch to get all my requiremtments done with plus some. I'm shooting for an A.

March 28

Today was my first class III patient. She was given to me so I wasn't sure what to expect since I didn't take her x-rays and her pockets depths didn't seem all that bad. But heh, is they called her a class III than I was ok with that. I need a class III for my requirements and I hadn't seen anyone but class II's and V's.
It went better than I thought it would. I was still very slow. I need to start scheduling more than one patinet at a time but I was told a class III needs all the time and I still won't get done. And they were right. I need to sched. her back.
But I did get some PE's passed off today as well. So I felt it was an ok day.

March 26

I did a couple sealants and a whole 1B today. She was an easy 1B. She does smoke so I was trying to get her cleaned so we could talk about smoking cessation. Since I know her I really wanted to talk to her about quitting. She hasn't done it for more than 8 months so I was hoping she would be up for hearing me out.
She seemed receptive to it and told me she would try quitting. I will call and see how she is doing a little later.

March 21

I had another class II today and she went ok. I didn't get finished so I will have to bring her back. Every time I need to bring someone back it stresses me a lot since I don't have that many more days until clinic is over. But it did go better today than my other days with my class II"s.
It seems all I am seeing are class II's, I really need to see more 1B's.
Even though I didn't get my pt. done today I did some PE"s passed off. So that is still one more step forward.

March 19

Today the kids I had scheduled were confirmed 2 to 3 times over the weekend. I had called to make sure they were coming since there has been so many no shows or cancelations lately with other students patients. And the mother said she was going to be there with both of her kids. When I was on my way to school for clinic today they (the mother) had decided to call and cancel 1 hour before they were suposse to show up. So I got a call from Mrs. Campbell telling me my patient canceled. AHHHHHHH!
Luckily my husband was on spring break and I hadn't finished him so he ended up being my back up pt. I can't beleive pt.'s do that when they know this is for our grade. I hope this won't happen again since I don't have another back up pt.

March 7

Today I was clinic assistant. I get so anxious when I have to take a day and be clinic assistant when I need to see patients to complete my requirements to get a grade. I can see how Mrs. Campbell might need an assistant since it can get pretty busy with 15 students seeing pt.'s but it still hard to give up that day.
Hopefully I still have enough days to get patients in and done with before the end of the semester.

March 5

Today I finally finished one of my class II's. She actually was my pt. from the end of last year. WOW it took my quite a few appointments to finish her. I feel really slow but my pt. was very patient and nice about it.
It went pretty well and I feel really good how clean she is. I guess I should since my instructors passed me and gave me the go a head to polish and give flouride.
I sure do hope I will get quicker as time goes on. If I keep up with this rate I will never get my qualifications complete.